Alien: Blackout is a rumored new Alien game from 20th Century Fox that may be officially announced at The Game Awards in December, but that doesn’t mean there already isn’t information online. The Alien franchise began with the 1979 science fiction horror film of the same name, which was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Sigourney Weaver, who went on to appear in the franchise’s sequels.
The premise of the Alien movies involves a future where mankind has taken to the stars, but something evil and “alien” lurks within the darkest confines of space ready to destroy humanity. There are a total of six movies in the Alien franchise, including several prequels, but the story doesn’t stop there. There are also several Alien novels, comic books, and video games, including the most recent, Alien: Isolation, which released in 2014. And now, it looks like Fox is aiming to continue the Alien story on consoles.
Fox recently trademarked Alien: Blackout, which left Alien franchise fans to speculate that an official announcement about the game will be coming soon. Since The Game Awards 2018 is right around the corner, that event makes the most sense for an announcement. Until then, though, here is everything we know so far about Alien: Blackout.
Alien: Blackout Developer is Cold Iron Studios
The first important detail about Alien: Blackout is its developer - Cold Iron Studios. There was a previous announcement about Cold Iron Studios working on a new Alien game, so it doesn’t take a great leap of logic to assume that this is the same developer working on Alien: Blackout. Cold Iron is a relatively new studio owned by FoxNext, but it includes developers who have done work on Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, City of Heroes, BioShock Infinite, Doom, Metroid Prime 3, and Borderlands. Alien: Blackout will be the first game for Cold Iron Studios, though.
Alien: Blackout is in development for PCs and consoles
Another key piece of information about Alien: Blackout is about the game being in development for both PCs and consoles. That might not seem too surprising, but don’t expect the new Alien game to appear on PS4 or Xbox One. Instead, the LinkedIn profile for Cold Iron Studios CEO Craig Zinkievich mentions that he is “leading design team to create next-gen gameplay and content.” Another employee for the company, CTO Shannon Posniewski, says the following on her profile: “We’re currently developing our first game for next-gen consoles and PC, and can’t wait to share the details with you!” This is confirmation that Alien: Blackout is a next-gen console title, most likely for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett. Still, that doesn’t mean it can’t also be a cross-generation release, similar to most video games that released in 2013.
Alien: Blackout is an action shooter
It’s certainly not a stretch to imagine that Alien: Blackout is an action game of some kind; the initial announcement about Cold Iron Studios working on an Alien game confirmed this detail. That initial announcement also suggested that the Alien game would be a shooter title. There’s a possibility, though, that the title is multiplayer, as suggested by Zinkievich’s job description on LinkedIn, which states that he’s “focused on building a culture where world-class developers can come together to create amazing action and online titles.” The important word to focus on there is “online.” Given his background in online gaming, this is a real possibility for Alien: Blackout. Cold Iron’s Art Director Matt Highison also mentions that the game is on Unreal Engine 4 on his LinkedIn page.
Alien: Blackout might get announced at The Game Awards 2018
Now that news about the Alien: Blackout trademark is out, when can Alien fans expect Fox to make an initial announcement about the game? It should come soon, but industry speculation is that the announcement will arrive with The Game Awards 2018 on December 6. The Game Awards organizer Geoff Keighley recently posted a teaser about the show on Twitter, which included the words “Worlds will change” in a font that seems similar to that used by Alien’s Weyland Industries.
If Fox has plans on announcing a new Alien title, The Game Awards provides the perfect opportunity for it, especially now that the company has the official trademark for Alien: Blackout. Fox could also show a teaser trailer for Alien: Blackout, which may offer up more details about what players can expect.
